It’s not hard to tell when there’s an election in Japan. You cannot miss it unless you are blind and deaf. No television, radio or newspapers needed–the politicians come to you, and in a big way.

You see, in Japan, politicians are limited in how they can campaign. They can put up posters in only on specially placed boards; they cannot advertise on television, and they cannot go door-to-door. So that, apparently, leaves them with no choice but to ride around in roaming, incredibly LOUD vans with huge loudspeakers on top, as many as four per truck, shouting things like, “I’m Ito Masami! I’m hanging in there! Vote for me!!” I swear. Listen to them yourself, and remember that this goes on all day long, sometimes for weeks, almost without a break–at least in my neighborhood, where there are lots of large apartment buildings.

But that’s not all. They’re not content with driving back and forth at 10 kph (holding up traffic) in your neighborhood endlessly from 9am to 8pm, day after day, drowning out your TV even with volume on high. Turning into your building’s parking lot and driving around it casually for quite some time is not enough, either. No, they also have to stop there for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, get out, and make long speeches right in front of your building.

Did I mention that this can go on for weeks at a time? I do not think that I mentioned that there are several candidates for any one area, and they’re all out there; if one is not annoying you right now, there seems no end to the others who are. Often, two or three will be in your neighborhood at any given time, playing a game of “Who’s Louder And More Obnoxious?”

I really do not know how or why the Japanese people put up with this. We’re not talking about this happening just in the business district, no, this is concentrated in populated areas, with sleeping infants, people just trying to enjoy some peace and quiet at home, and some people trying to sleep in late on weekends (like me, alas). In the U.S., anyone who tried this even for a day would be shouted off the streets and elected out of office so fast their heads would spin. I would MUCH rather have them be on TV all the time–at least then I could turn them off.